1. Technical Field
Various embodiments relate generally to a semiconductor device and an operating method thereof and, more particularly, to a soft program operation of a three-dimensional semiconductor device.
2. Related Art
A three-dimensional device may include memory layers. The memory layers may be arranged in a vertical direction with respect to a semiconductor substrate. Word lines may be stacked along the memory layers and separated from each other. Memory cells may be formed at positions where the word lines and the memory layers make contact with each other.
Since the three-dimensional semiconductor device includes memory layers arranged in a vertical direction, a difference in thickness may occur between the top and bottom portions of the memory layers during a manufacturing process.
The differences in thickness of the memory layers may cause a difference in electric fields between the top and bottom portions of the memory layers. A time taken to perform a soft program operation subsequent to an erase operation may be increased due to these differences in electric fields. For example, a soft program operation may be performed on dummy cells of the three-dimensional semiconductor device. Since the dummy cells are formed on the top and bottom portions of the memory layers, respectively, the soft program operation may be separately performed thereon.